GREENVILLE, N.C. - In addition to a listing of passing grades for all 19 of East Carolina's athletic programs, two gold stars were included on its annual NCAA report card that tracks academic progress of scholarship athletes.

The NCAA report, released earlier this week, is a closely watched barometer of how well member schools are doing in retaining and graduating student-athletes who were recruited to play here. The most important number in the report is the academic progress rate, or APR, that the NCAA assigns to each member school. APR is considered a predictor of graduation rates.

All ECU sports teams scored above the 930 multi-year APR minimum in 2011-12, according to the NCAA's release. The report also identified five Pirate teams - men's tennis; and women's golf, swimming, tennis and volleyball - achieved graduation success rate scores, or GSRs, of 100. While the APR is intended to be an early indicator of graduation, the GSR is a six-year graduation rate. It differs from the federal graduation rate in that it also accounts for student-athletes who transfer to the institution and subtracts student-athletes who transfer out in good academic standing.

This year, the NCAA gave special public recognition awards to two ECU teams as the women's volleyball and women's swimming programs each achieved APR rates in the top 10 percent of all squads nationwide in their respective sport. It marked the volleyball team's third time to make the elite academic list since 2004, and the first for women's swimming.

"Success is measured in many ways and while there is always room for improvement, we take great pride in the academic achievement of our student athletes," ECU Athletics Director Jeff Compher said. "I am thankful Terry Holland and his staff set the appropriate expectations and balance for our athletics program."

Scoring below the APR minimum triggers NCAA team penalties ranging from loss of practice time to lost scholarships to a ban on postseason play. The Pirates' men's basketball program was penalized a scholarship during the 2006-07 season, but under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Jeff Lebo, ECU has posted improved scores that include a 954 APR for 2011-12.

Head coach Ruffin McNeill's football program earned a 945 APR for 2011-12, well-ahead of a 909 mark in 2004-05 when the NCAA began its vigilance monitoring scores and established accountability minimums.

The report indicates that graduation rates for ECU scholarship athletes are about the same as the student body. Overall, East Carolina's graduation success rate for student-athletes is 74 percent, according to the report.